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ToffeeWeb Season Diary

Season 2006-07

Navigate to previous months and seasons using the calendar (right).

 

 November 2006


News Headlines & Features

Plucky defence rumbled in the end
29 Nov - Despite a promising 40 minutes when, if anything, Everton matched their imperious hosts in an open and exciting first half, the result in the end was as emphatic as many had predicted. Once again, the toothless Everton forward line flattered to deceive as McFadden and Beattie spurned half-chances, while it took only a fraction of a second for first Ronaldo, then Evra, and finally O'Shea, to drill, fire and flick the ball past Richard Wright and into the Everton net. Nothing to fear... except fear itself. Match report

Manchester United vs Everton
28 Nov - It's 14 years since Everton last won at Old Trafford and, given our current form and the fact that both of our top scorers are likely to be missing, you would think that that winless sequence is likely to be extended on Wednesday night against the Premiership leaders. But stranger things have happened and a well-earned point would be just fine, thank you very much. [TV] [Attractive betting options]

Moyes set for January spree
27 Nov - David Moyes has admitted that he might be forced to take an "unplanned" trek into January's transfer window. Citing the lack of depth in an already depleted squad, Moyes says that "with the numbers we have got we may have to have a look." After a promising start to the season Moyes' side have stuttered over recent weeks, matters not helped with the absence on Saturday of our two leading goalscorers, Johnson and Cahill. Cahill's absence till the New Year gives Moyes most concern as midfield is an area further depleted after the transfer of Kevin Kilbane to Wigan. Looks as though Moyes is on the prowl for a midfielder. Andy van der who...?

Take a little, give a little
25 Nov - No Andy Johnson, who is out with hamstring trouble again, so who would score the goals? Not Beattie; not McFadden, who huffed and puffed but was too selfish. Not Everton, who needed the intervention of Hreidarsson's thigh to secure a lucky lead after they had failed to score in a dominant first quarter. A win was on the cards until Valente was too easily robbed by Marcus Bent for Reid to power home a low drive and deny Everton another win. Report by Lyndon Lloyd

Charlton Athletic vs Everton
24 Nov - Everton are back in the Capital this weekend to play the Premiership's bottom club in the form of Charlton Athletic who under new manager, Les Reed, following the sacking of Iain Dowie. After winning their first game in four against Bolton, the Blues will be confident of winning at The Valley for the first time since 2001/02... but nothing is guaranteed. [Updated TV]

Awayday to Macclesfield
23 Nov - Players from Everton's Youth Academy will start their FA Youth Cup campaign away to Macclesfield after the Cheshire side were victorius over Shrewsbury Town in Round 2 of the competition. Everton last won the FA Youth Cup back in 1998 but have not done very well in recent years after reaching the final with Wayne Rooney in 2002. Subsequently, they have fallen at the first hurdle in three of the last four seasons.

Moyes admits he's short of players
21 Nov - David Moyes now admits his squad ? the same one which was lauded early in the season as having depth ? does not now have enough depth and he is short on numbers. That means he might be looking to bring in a few players during the January window, but he won't have much to spend, so those will likely be on loan deals.

Arteta magic gives Everton the edge
18 Nov - Everton were under some pressure to perform, having lost their last three games, and their leading scorer, so the visit of Bolton provided a substantial challenge to the resilience of Moyes's boys. But they responded well, keeping things reasonably tight, with Mikel Arteta capping a superb personal display on the hour when he strode forward and fired home a screamer off his left foot from 25 yards to win the game in fine style. Just what the doctor ordered! Match reports by Lyndon Lloyd and Jonathan Martin.

Everton vs Bolton Wanderers
17 Nov - Everton play host to Bolton Wanderers this weekend mindful of the 4-0 drubbing in this fixture last season and hoping to avoid a fourth consecutive defeat in all competitions. The absence of Tim Cahill and James McFadden will surely mark a return to 4-4-2 at home and another chance for the Beattie-Johnson partnership to gel. KO is 3pm and will be preceded by a minute's silence to honour the memory of Ben Nowak who was killed in Iraq last weekend. [TV] [Betting]

European champions come to Goodison
16 Nov - As part of the fund-raising initiative established to acquire the David France Collection, a team of former Blues will take on a team of ex-Barca players on 28 March 2007. The visitors will field a team that includes former greats such as Michael Laudrup and Luis Enrique, whereas the home side will include some familiar faces, players who were denied the right to play in the European Cup back in the mid 80s due to the ban imposed on English clubs at the time.

AvdM returns as reserves triumph
15 Nov - Andy van der Meyde played almost 80 minutes for the Reserves tonight as he bids to return from injury to provide Everton with a bit of width and hopefully some decent crosses. But it was James McFadden, playing due to a two-match suspension from the first team, who grabbed both goals in a 2-0 win at Wigan. [Err... since when were suspended players allowed to play in Reserves games?]

Cahill Out Until 2007?
14 Nov - Dreadful news for Everton regarding Tim Cahill as it looks as if the leading scorer will be out for 6 to 8 weeks with serious medial knee ligament damage. The results of the MRI scan he needed after Lee Carsley crazily stamped on his shin in a ridiculous collision during the Villa game appear to show that his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is OK but there may also be cartilage damage.

Remembrance Sunday, Reality Monday...
13 Nov - With little to cheer about currently, and lots of angst, mingled with pleas for patience, in our mailbag, we make no excusues for turning our attention to the most important issue facing Everton in regard to honouring Our History ? the unique history of our once-great club. Colm Kavanagh wonders what's the current state of play surrounding the David France Collection. Have Everton FC secured it yet?

Don't get your January hopes up
12 Nov - The message to fans not to raise their hopes of a January move to address the increasingly obvious lack of depth in Everton's squad has come early this year. David Moyes, who is now famous for playing it ultra safe during the January transfer window, says that unless it is "really, really worthwhile," he won't be looking to buy anyone during the upcoming transfer window. He says he is happy with what he already has. Sadly, based on past evidence, he usually means what he says...

Moyes's boys out of ideas
11 Nov - Everton slumped to a third straight 1-0 defeat in a wind- and rain-swept encounter at Goodison Park. It was the visitors who played the better football and after Tim Cahill had been stretchered off after being caught by Lee Carsley's poor tackle, Chris Sutton took advantage of acres of space to glance home just before the break. Andy Johnson's only chance of the game a few minutes later was the Blues' best but he blasted wide as he bore down on goal. Lots of huffing and puffing with no clear direction ensued in the second half but a James Beattie volley from the angle saved by Thomas Sorensen and a couple of Carsley side-foot shots were about all Everton could muster. Report by Lyndon Lloyd

Poll engineers Blues' cup exit
8 Nov - Everton's bid to reach the League Cup 5th Round for the first time in nearly two decades was criminally undermined by another moment of controversy by Graham "Mr Ego" Poll who denied Andy Johnson two clear-cut penalties and showed James McFadden an automatic red card for dissent (Poll claims he called him a "cheat", the Scot says all he did was swear). The Blues acquitted themselves well despite playing 71 minutes with 10 men but gave up a soft headed goal by Adebayor with six minutes to go. Johnson, who worked tirelessly as the lone striker all evening long unfortunately missed a chance to save the tie; having been earlier foiled by Mart Poom he missed an open goal at the death and David Moyes's side crashed out. Report from Paul Traill

Search on for coin-throwing idiot
7 Nov - Everton are hoping to identify the idiot who threw that coin at Claus Jensen on Saturday. "We would urge anyone who knows his or her identity to contact the police immediately. We will be studying video recordings of the incident to see if we can firstly isolate and then identify the so-called supporter involved." Yea, it ain't cool to clat on yer mates.. until their stupidity results in docked points for Everton. You know it makes sense!

Fulham 1 - 0 Everton
4 Nov - Everton played the attacking football we were promised; it just turned out that they were not very good at it. And reliance on Andrew Johnson to turn a penalty came to nought when the ref was pre-warned and the linesman not interested. So a first half Everton totally dominated ended goalless... and Fulham came out in the second like a different team. A deflected goal, Everton unable to get their foot on the ball, some late and largely ineffective substitutions, and it was all over. Very disappointing; very annoying; very ominous... Match report

Sharpy ? My Story
2 Nov - Graham Sharp's goalscoring feats for Everton are second only to those of the legendary Dixie Dean. So says David Prentice, who provides this lengthy review in the Echo of a new biography by the player. In Sharpy ? My Story he talks about Kendall's Trophy-winning 1980s team, and the problems that new players bought in by Colin Harvey created. A good rea, by all accounts

Curse of the Left Back
1 Nov - The seemingly never-ending curse upon our left backs has struck once more with news that Patrick Boyle will be out of action for the remainder of 2006. Boyle recently returned from a loan spell at Norwich suffering from a back injury and it has now been diagnosed as a stress fracture.

 

Snippets & Rumours

Time is up for James Beattie
30 Nov - Jamie Armstrong thinks it's time to cash in on Beattie. Responses

Farewell to Wayne
30 Nov - Shaun Sparke has finally given up on Wayne Rooney

Just the way it is
30 Nov - Luq Yussef questions the motives of the Everton Chairman

Count your blessings
30 Nov - Frank Tomlins has no sympathy for them Mancs. Responses

I've had it with James Beattie
30 Nov - Paul Traill has reached breaking poiint with Everton's star 'striker'

More moaning from Moyes
29 Nov - David Moyes laments an unfair scoreline... but it was his job to make it something more palettable, and he had no answer to United's modest efforts.

West Ham Ticket Update
29 Nov - Tickets for this weekend's clash with West Ham at Goodison are still on general sale at the box office, via Dial-a-Seat or online at evertonfc.com. There is also a £35.00 adult+child offer for the Upper Bullens available only through the Park End box office.

A typical Scottish dribbler
29 Nov - David Moyes talks about James McFadden, whom he once labeled the "Scottish Rooney", and gives some candid thoughts on him as a footballer in the Premiership.

A Moving Debate
28 Nov - A lengthy discussion from Matt Traynor in Singapore

Nothing to fear
29 Nov - David Moyes believes Everton's record in a couple of games against boot-quaking opponents so far this season means we have nothing to fear at Old Trafford tonight. Now if you apply that logic to the lesser teams... like Charlton???

Ferguson would take Howard back
28 Nov - Sir Alex Ferguson confirms our worst nightmare ? that Howard could well return to Old Trafford at the end of his season-long loan spell.

Johnson set to miss United game
28 Nov - Andrew Johnson is expected to be absent for Everton's visit to Old Trafford on Wednesday night... unless David Moyes is playing a cunning pre-match bluff...

And it all came tumbling down...
27 Nov - Peter Fearon does a nice scare-job on the costs and rewards of building a new stadium

Know your history? Kirkby is Liverpool
27 Nov - A rant in defence of scousedom

Wright in goal at Old Trafford
27 Nov - Richard Wright is expected to make his first Premiership start of the season on Wednesday at Old Trafford, with Tim Howard being ineligible to face his parent club. John Ruddy returns from his very successful loan spell at Stockport County to provide cover from the bench.

Naysmith set to return
27 Nov - Gary Naysmith eases the injury woes facing David Moyes this week by returning to full training. "Gary is doing absolutely everything now. He's been blasting the ball and we just want to ease him back into training," says physio Mick Rathbone, who also confirmed that Tony Hibbert will remain sidelined till the New Year after sustaining a groin injury at Middlesbrough.

No idea on AJ's fitness
26 Nov - David Moyes says he has no idea how long Everton may be without star striker, Andrew Johnson, the story now being that he was injured in the 1-0 win over Bolton ? a rather well-kept secret.

'Goal we lost was shambolic'
25 Nov - David Moyes was not happy with the way his Everton players gifted an equalizing goal to Charlton.

Hibbert suffers injury setback
25 Nov - Tony Hibbert's recovery from a serious groin injury looks like it needs another month or two to heal. The Official Website lists his return date as 'unknown'.

City-Regions: Kirkby's future?
25 Nov - Urban planning... or change for the sake of change?

What if you don't know your history?
25 Nov - Another viewpoint on the need to preserve our 'organic' connections

AJ out injured
25 Nov - Everton's goalhound, Andrew Johnson, misses today's clash at Charlton with a hamstring strain.

Farrelly signs for Blackpool
24 Nov - One-time Everton hero Gareth Farelley, whose goal against Coventry saved Everton from relegation ignominy, has moved on to Blackpool.

Nuno Valente is a big plus
24 Nov - David Moyes was very pleased with Nuno Valente's performance last week, and is looking for him to improve the forward supply lines...

The Kirkby Effect
23 Nov - Will new fans choose to follow Everton in Kirkby? Steve Ferns has the answer

Turner makes a bright start
23 Nov - Crystal Palace are very happy with the start Iain Turner has made to his loan spell with them, a clean sheet helping them to their first win in nine games. Manager Peter Taylor already wants to extend the loan.

Cahill looks for quick return
22 Nov - Tim Cahill is upbeat about the prospects for his damaged knee ligaments healing quickly so he can get back into training.

We must move
22 Nov - Lee Spargo says redevelopment of Goodison is a non-starter. Response

Reserves lose 3-0 to Boro
22 Nov - Everton Reserves lost 3-0 at Middlesbrough on Tuesday night, with Vaughan and Anichebe unable to make an impression leading the attack.

Unlucky? I think so!
22 Nov - A painful history lesson from Shaun Sparke.

Player of the Month: October
21 Nov - Belatedly, we announce the first player not named Andy Johnson to be voted TW Player of the Month this season.

New faces? Or no new faces???
21 Nov - Contrary to morning reports, David Moyes - despite admitting to being low on numbers - does not envisage adding to his squad during the January transfer window. He says it will be "difficult" to improve the side, and he prefers doing his business in the summer.

AJ not worried by goal drought
21 Nov - Andrew Johnson says he's not worried by the goal drought that has seem him unable to find the net in eight games over the last two months.

La Bombonera
21 Nov - Peter Laing looks at a potential stadium role-model

AGM date set
20 Nov - The club have confirmed that the annual AGM will take place on in the Alex Young Suite at 7pm on 11th December. Among other things on the agenda, Bill Kenwright is up for re-election as a director.

I love Everton
20 Nov - Nick McCann on what it means for him. Response from Rob Heaton

Arteta refutes rumours
19 Nov - Mikel Arteta was angered by reports earlier this week suggesting he would have to leave Everton in order to further his international ambitions.

Howard in no position to commit
17 Nov - Tim Howard admits that while he will likely have some say in the matter, his future next summer may largely be out of his hands. The American is only on loan at Goodison for this season.

Academy honoured again
17 Nov - Everton Academy player, Jack Rodwell, has been named in the England Under-16 squad for the Victory Shield decider against Scotland.

AGM date pencilled in
17 Nov - The Annual General Meeting of Everton Football Club Co Ltd has been 'pencilled in' for Monday 11 December 2006, with the ground move and Dr David France's amazing collection of Everton memorabilia no doubt on the agenda.

The New Goodison
17 Nov - Greg Dawson provides some design criteria

Turner secures Palace loan
16 Nov - Everton have loaned out up-and-coming 'keeper, Iain Turner, for a month to Crystal Palace to give the Scot more first-team exposure.

Mrs Referee?
16 Nov - This Fans Comment article by Shaun Sparke ventures into the delicate area of women officials and 'political correctness'.

Frustrating night for Johnson
15 Nov - Andy Johnson was deployed in a right-wing role for England tonight and, predictably, struggled to make an impact before being substituted after 73 minutes of England's drab 1-1 draw against Holland.

Naked players wandering Bellefield
15 Nov - Jeanette Howard, fired from her secretarial position at Bellefield for e-mailing pornographic material to friends, claims that she was disturbed by frequently seeing players wandering around naked. Ah, ok. Make that half naked!

Vaughan scores U-19s' winner
15 Nov - James Vaughan came on as a sub for the England Under-19 side and scored the winner in their 3-2 win over Switzerland.

Would you support Knowsley move?
15 Nov - Our latest poll attempts to again gauge fans' views on the stadium debate, this time on the proposed move to Knowsley. Have your say.

G Poll (Tring)
15 Nov - Nick Armitage weighs in on the Thing from Tring...

Selling our souls, Part 2
15 Nov - Craig Heywood and another installment on the Old Lady, Goodison

What is Success
15 Nov - Nick Entwistle takes a sobering look at what is and isn't possible. Responses

PotM October
14 Nov - Very late this month but we would appreciate your vote nontheless

EFC past and present for England
14 Nov - Andy Johnson will make his first start for England in the friendly against Holland tomorrow and he will partner Wayne Rooney. Phil Neville will be among the substitutes.

AJ 'Unbelievable'
14 Nov - No, Phil Neville is not talking about Saturday's miss that prolonged Andrew Johnson's goal drought; he is instead talking up the progress of his Everton teammate's international ambitions with the England squad.

Ruleteros Society's Collection donation
14 Nov - Back at the end of last month, the Ruleteros Society presented the Everton Collection Charitable Trust with a cheque for £750.

Belated Match Reports
14 Nov - Uninspiring ? that's the rather generous description headlining Paul Traill's report on the Aston Villa match. His Arsenal report is also up now, in case you missed it.

Memories Lost
14 Nov - Dave Lynch spends a moment reflecting on old glories...

'That bloody ref...'
13 Nov - The residents of Tring in Hertfordshire are less inclined to admit where they're from these days...

Shareholders reps meet Wyness
13 Nov - The Shareholders Association executive committee met with Keith Wyness on November 6th and a summary of their discussions is available here. Among other things, the CEO confirmed that while Kirkby is now the favoured site for a new stadium, nothing has been decided.

Moyes slaps writ on Rooney
12 Nov - David Moyes has apparently carried through his threat to sue Wayne Rooney over comments in the ex-Everton player's autobiography.

Moyes's boys out of ideas
11 Nov - Match report by Lyndon Lloyd

No news on Cahill injury
11 Nov - No real news yet on how serious Tim Cahill's injury is after a nasty-looking studs up tackle from Lee Carsley.

The soul lives on...
11 Nov - Chris Jones on his Goodison memories

Smith rues time at Everton
11 Nov - Walter Smith considers that he failed in his time at Everton.

Selling our Soul?
11 Nov - Fantastic piece of writing by Craig Heywood

Spirited bounce-back in store
10 Nov - David Moyes is expecting his charges to bounce back after two defeats in a week.

Being forced out of love
10 Nov - Stephen Hale on bad refereeing. Response from Ged Simpson

Jordan defends AJ
10 Nov - Quite a few are stepping forward to defend Andrew Johnson's reputation as an honest player, including this passionate testimonial from Palace Chairman Simon Jordan.

Make or Break
10 Nov - This one from Stefan Tosev came in late...

The Problem with Money
10 Nov - Kieran Fitgerald asks about the buisness of EFC.

Ruddy loan extended
9 Nov - John Ruddy will stay with Stockport County on loan as the deal was extended for a third month.

Complain to the FA
9 Nov - Charlie Skinley protests to the FA.

Van der Meyde's latest comeback
9 Nov - Andy van der Meyde, who is yet to play anything near 90 minutes for the Blues since joining over a year ago, is close to resuming full training after injuring his ankle before the Sheffield United game last month.

He said, she said
8 Nov - David Moyes said it was a penalty; Graham Poll said it wasn't. Poll said McFadden called him a cheat; McFadden just swore at him.

AJ — a retraction
8 Nov - The TW Webmaster retracts his previous blog post upon further reflection of the incident at Fulham where Andy Johnson should have been awarded a penalty for the tackle by Ian Pearce.

Victor is blossoming
8 Nov - But will he get to start tonight? Alan Irvine is talking a lot but he ain't giving that away. The Assistant Manager also leaps to AJ's defence in the diving controversy, an issue on which the TW Webmaster has also changed his stance upon further reflection.

200 up for David Moyes
8 Nov - David Moyes celebrates his 200th game in charge of Everton, against Arsenal tonight, and promises: "This will be completely different to the League game. We are at home and we will be trying to force the issue."

Arsenal ticket reminder
8 Nov - Tonight's Carling Cup match with Arsenal is all-ticket and the box office closes at 6pm so make sure you get your ticket before then otherwise you won't get in.

Technical areas / goalscoring
8 Nov - Alan Irvine talks plenty about all sorts of topical stuff related to technical areas, goalscoring, and managers celebrating...

Dive, dive, dive
7 Nov - Nick Armitage comes to the defence of Andy Johnson

Weir given all-clear
7 Nov - David Weir is expected to return to the first-team squad for Wednesday's Carling Cup game against Arsenal after getting knocked out in the previous round against Luton.

Raising questions
7 Nov - Where are Everton heading? Liam Reilly responds.

Toffs in Tweed and Robin Hood
6 Nov - Ed Bottomly reflects on another defeat at Craven Cottage

Cut out the theatrics, AJ
6 Nov - Sorry, Phil, the diving claims are not that ludicrous. Or so said the TW Webmaster in a plea to AJ to avoid "making the most" of contact in the area before later retracting his comments after further review.

Diving claims are ludicrous
6 Nov - "So many Premiership managers are talking about Andy Johnson diving all the time, which is totally ludicrous," says Phil Neville.

Same old story at Craven Cottage
5 Nov - More frustration for the Blues at Craven Cottage. Match report by Lyndon Lloyd

The Big Blue Yonder
5 Nov - Joe Woods sees the move to Kirkby as inevitable.

''Much better times ahead''
5 Nov - So says manager David Moyes, who sees team spirit and a young squad as promising portents, despite yesterday's setback at Fulham.

Moyes 'baffled' by defeat
4 Nov - In this BBC video post-match interview, a noticeably downhearted David Moyes admits ,"We need to be more ruthless... we need to win games away from home."

Fulham fan throws coin at Jensen?
4 Nov - Come off it, Davie. This piece of nonsense does not reflect well on you or our once-great club. There were no Everton players near him. Why on earth would a Fulham fan throw a coin at a Fulham player who'd just scored their winning goal?

The Future
4 Nov - Dave Roberts wonders whether Kirkby is the answer for a new Everton stadium

Time people took notice
3 Nov - Plenty to chew on from David Moyes in this Soccernet article where the Everton manager speaks boldly and with confidence about the great team he is buidling.

Talks on Stadium Construction?
3 Nov - The Echo claims that Everton have discussed building a stadium in Kirkby with Barr Construction, the Scottish company that built Celtic Park and St Mary's in Southampton.

Patience is a (Blue) Virtue
2 Nov - Advice from Gary Joyce on attaining new glory [2 Nov]

Fortress Goodison?
2 Nov - Come on, fear the noise, says Phil Lupton [2 Nov]

Valente returns to training
2 Nov - Everton have received some positive news on the injury front with defender Nuno Valente making a return to full training.

Frustration v Job Well Done
2 Nov - Over at ESPN/Soccernet, The Insider takes a reasonably sensible look at Everton and the Arsenal game. And the Online Gooner blog is big enough to recall the George Graham years.

Kits through the ages
2 Nov - Steve Johnson's Everton Results website features a new section that portrays Everton kits through the ages: sky blue, red, black (Midnight Driblers)... they are (almost) all here.

Reserves draw with City
1 Nov - Everton Reserves drew 1-1 with Man City, defender Mark Hughes heading home his third goal of the season to equalize an earlier strike.

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